The top elected leader of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship described a review of the organization’s LGBTQ hiring policy to be voted on this week as an attempt to meet various CBF constituencies “where they are” on a highly charged issue on which there is no consensus.
CBF prepares for vote on proposed hiring policy
A two-year review of a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship policy banning the employment of gays is wrapping up. The CBF Governing Board plans to receive the final report of the Illumination Project at a meeting Feb. 8-9 at First Baptist Church…
Former moderators sign petition urging repeal of CBF hiring ban
Twelve former moderators of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are among more than 500 names attached to an online petition urging current leaders to drop the organization’s 17-year-old ban against hiring LGBT people. The petition — delivered this week to a…
Illumination Project seeks light, not heat, on controversial issues, task force reports at CBF
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is trying to do what few if any mainstream religious bodies have been able to do — disagree about homosexuality without splitting.
Border wall, immigration among top concerns for Hispanic Baptists, leader says
President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall, deteriorating relations with Mexico, and the arrests and deportations of immigrants — many from their own communities — strike at the heart of the Hispanic community.
LGBTQ Cooperative Baptists say the time for inclusion is now
Cooperative Baptists who identify as LGBTQ and their allies said the time is now for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to drop its policy against hiring staff or missionaries who are openly gay on the eve of the June 28-30 CBF…
CBF ‘Illumination Project’ prepares for listening phase
An ad hoc committee appointed in July is getting ready to enter a phase of listening to diverse voices within the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship on matters of human sexuality, according to a report of last week’s meeting of the CBF…
Survey suggests continuing resistance among Baptists to LGBT inclusion
A little over a year after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, Baptists remain among the most resistant to LGBT inclusion among U.S. Protestant groups, according to new data from LifeWay Research.
CBF appoints committee to implement Illumination Project
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has announced the creation of a five-member committee charged in part with guiding the organization through renewed controversy over its longstanding policy against hiring LGBTQ people. The committee is responsible for implementing the Illumination Project, which…